Vadodara-Based Chemical Firm Duped of Rs 51.8 Lakh in Email Spoofing Cyber Fraud

Vadodara: A Vadodara-based chemical manufacturing company has allegedly fallen victim to a cyber fraud worth Rs 51.80 lakh, after scammers used spoofed emails and manipulated bank account details to divert an international payment.

An official of Deepak Nitrite Ltd filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Police Station on Monday, stating that a payment intended for a German company was instead transferred to a bank account in Portugal controlled by fraudsters.

According to the complaint, Deepak Nitrite had signed an agreement with the German firm in 2024 for a product feasibility study. In October 2025, the company remitted Rs 51.80 lakh to what it believed was the German firm’s designated bank account for invoice settlement.

The fraud came to light in February 2026 when the German company contacted Deepak Nitrite seeking payment of the pending dues. Shocked by the request, company officials shared proof of the earlier transaction with the German firm.

A subsequent internal investigation reportedly found that the bank account information had been received through a spoofed or masked email address, leading the company to unknowingly transfer the funds to cybercriminals instead of the intended recipient.

After discovering the fraud, the company approached the beneficiary bank and requested that the transaction be frozen. However, the complaint states that no response has been received from the bank so far.

Police have registered a case and launched an investigation into the incident. DeshGujarat